Sunroofs for vehicles have become increasingly popular in recent years because they not only allow additional sunlight to enter the vehicle, but also act to ventilate the vehicle. Heretofore, the amount of sunroof ventilation could not be readily adjusted since the amount of outside air entering the vehicle through the sunroof opening depended essentially on the size of the opening and the contour of the vehicle's roof.
Another problem associated with previous sunroofs is that of wind buffeting noises caused by air flowing over the sunroof opening which creates an irritating buffeting effect within the vehicle's interior. Previous attempts to eliminate this buffeting problem have involved the provision of a relatively small deflector secured along the roof immediately forward of the leading edge of the sunroof opening. These deflectors, some of which were pivotally mounted along their forward edge to the roof, were successful in deflecting the oncoming air a sufficient degree to eliminate buffeting. Other types of these prior art deflectors were stationarily mounted on the roof and were therefore unsightly. In any event, none of the known prior art air deflectors for sunroofs are suitable for use with sunroof installations of the type having a removable sunroof panel. Moreover, none of the known prior art deflectors was capable of deflecting air into the interior of the vehicle through the sunroof opening, but rather functioned to provide an opposite result, i.e., deflecting air away from the sunroof opening.